The preparation of commercial wood doors for hardware is a specialized part of the door industry. The specialization comes from the great variety of hardware that can be used. For example, the preparation of a door for the attachment of exit devices may require a wide variety of preparations depending upon the specific type of exit device being installed. Previously, it has been necessary to use a specialized template that is unique to each exit device. The wide variety of possible preparations has prevented the development of a more advanced template, as the template could not be designed to handle more than one type of preparation.
The following represents the state of the art in this field:
Brydon, U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,285, (and the associated PCT application, WO 92/15434, teach a three-sided drilling template for preparing a door. The first and second sides of the template are parallel and contact opposite sides of the door. The third side of the template, orthogonal to and bridging the span between the first and second sides of the template, abuts the edge of the door. A plurality of through guide holes are located in each side of the template and indicate the centers of mounting holes for the mounting of operating hardware such as door locks and knobs. Indicatings on the template indicate the specific purpose of each through guide hole, and indicateed circles concentric with the through guide holes indicate the correct size of the mounting holes. A rectangular extension on the interior surface of the third side fits into a lock face recess previously formed or pre-machined in the edge of the door for accurate alignment of the template to the door.
Matadobra, U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,352, describes a similar template for routing hardware mounting apertures in doors. This template includes a spacer plate that can be mounted upon the template to provide proper back-set. The template includes a router guide-hole that is at least one inch.
Adamik et al., U.S. Des. 356,271, shows a combination template and boring jig that includes a lateral adjustment capability for positioning a router guide-hole similar to that of Matadobras.
C. Sturtz, U.S. Pat. No. 936,579, describes a mortise indicating device that is adapted to enable a carpenter to indicate and mortise a number of doors quickly and easily. The device includes an elongate stock that is positioned against the side of the door. A indicating point projects outwardly from the central portion of the face of the stock. Indicating plates are positioned on either side of the indicating point to provide indicating points that function to indicate the points on the door that are to be cut. A side plate, also having indicating points, is adapted to be positioned against the side of the door to indicate where holes are to be cut in the door. The position of the side plate can be readily adjusted with respect to the edge of the door.
Zivojinovic, U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,632 B1, describes a jig for removable fitment along the edge of a door which provides a suitable combination of guides and stops to allow the location and operation of suitable cutting tools such as drills or routers. The jig comprises a pair of parallel guide plates the distance between which is adjustable for removable fitment to opposing surfaces of the door. The guide plates are indicated with a center line (33) for correctly locating the jig at the proper height. Guide holes are located in the guide plates through which a drill or other suitable tool may be inserted. The jig has a guide associated therewith for allowing location of a suitable tool at the edge of the door for making a cylindrical hole or for machining a mortise therein for receiving the body of a mortise lock or a rebate for receiving the face plate of the lock mechanism. A guide block to facilitate accurate drilling is also disclosed.
Nashlund, U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,823, describes a jig for guiding the bits of boring and routing tools to predetermined locations on a door in preparation for the installation of a door knob assembly, dead bolt or the like. The apparatus includes an elongated channel-shaped frame member for receiving an edge of a door and having a base portion and two depending side portions, a pair of templates attached to respective side portions of the channel shaped frame member for guiding a boring tool bit to locations along the side of the door, a movable edge boring guide attached over the base portion of the frame for directing a boring tool to predetermined locations along the edge of the door, and a pair of clamps for clamping the frame firmly to the door. The base portion of the frame forms a router support surface to facilitate routing of the edge of the door.
A. E. Hand et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,884, describes a latch installation tool jig. The jig includes a pair of face plates that are adapted to be clamped to a door using a pair of clamping mechanisms. A plurality of cutter assemblies are adapted to be mounted upon the frame to guide the various cutting steps required for preparing the door.
Diaz, U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,449 B1, describes a 3-sided bracket shaped template for drilling door knob and lock holes in doors. This template includes a lock plate at a right angle to a reverse plate. The template plate and reverse plate each contain rectangular apertures for drill passage, and the template plate further has bracket sleeves on the bottom and both sides of the rectangular aperture for slidably mounting removable plate guides each with different perpendicular cylindrical extension guide for drills of varying sizes. The lock plate also has a centered circular hole with a tubular drill guide perpendicular to the lock plate.
Riedel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,826, describes a jig for use with routers and other augering equipment for cutting the proper openings in a door for the installation of mortise locks. The jig formed in a U-shaped configuration is placed over the edge of the door at a proper height from the door sill and through a pivotal end plate adjustably positions itself on the door regardless of the contour of the encased edge of the door.
F. Catalanotto, U.S. Pat. No. 1,326,583, describes a hinge setter that includes side plates that can be adjusted laterally through the use of screws set into slots.
Kelly et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,962, describes a magnetic door lock. This reference discusses the benefits of using a template to facilitate installation of the lock on the door.
Goldstein et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,845, describes a drill guide apparatus for enabling the drilling of holes in a door for the installation of a door handle assembly. This apparatus has a U-shaped member sized to fit around the edge of a conventional door into which holes are to be drilled for the installation of the door handle assembly. A C-type clamp is included for rigidly clamping the U-shaped member to the edge of said door in the region to be drilled. A drill bushing is installed through a region of the U-shaped member in a location enabling, when the apparatus is clamped to the edge of the door, the guiding a drill for drilling a hole into the edge of the door. A plurality of side plates are provided, each having drill guide apertures arranged for guiding the drilling of holes for the installation of a particular type of door handle assembly. The side plates are detachably fastened to one leg of the U-shaped member so that when apparatus is clamped onto the edge of the door, the drill guide apertures are properly located.
Livick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,125, describes a drilling template for accurately positioning latch holes and lock cutouts in door stiles. The template includes a pair of spaced, parallel, rectangular, frame member that are rigidly interconnected at one end. The frame members straddle a vertical door stile with the interconnecting end firmly against the edge of the stile. Clamps on one frame member are then tightened. A latch hole drilling guide is centered in a plate at the interconnecting end of the frame, and various diameter hole saw guides on removable side plates are positionable at any of a plurality of selected positions along the length of the frame to provide cutout positions for any of many lock backsets.
Other examples include E. R. Rushton, U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,167 (jig for door locks), Adamik et al., U.S. Des. 356,271, and Zivojinovic, WO 99/12710.
The above-described references are hereby incorporated by reference in full.
The present invention is a template that can accommodate a wide variety of preparations. The template provides various advantages over the prior art, as discussed below.